Can my A4 take the power?!?!

[1TA LS1]

I am going to install a Vortech Supercharger on my 2001 Pontiac Trans Am WS6 5.7L. It is an automatic 4speed (STOCK).

What should I do to the Transmission so it can take the new power (aprox. 410hp)??

[yellowv]

How many miles? Unless it has real high mileage it should handle it just fine.

[third_shift|studios]

it will literally melt. 4L60e's are terrible when it comes to adding big power. talk to zboner and djvaly-they have stage 3+ a4s and are miserable.

[shady milkman]

talk to zboner and djvaly-they have stage 3+ a4s and are miserable.

huh?

[slims00ls1z28]

Unless you are doing 2psi you will have more than 410 hp. The 4L60 will give you woes. I have a friend with a procharged Camaro a4 who has been through 4 input drums (the biggest weak link), I'm on my second and all I had was a handful of bolt-ons. Get it built and make sure you get the hardened input drum/shaft with it (torque drive package as some call it. It will make it last a little longer. You can always switch to the 4L80e (Like I'll do when this one goes again) and eliminate that problem but it won't be cheap. With the A4 it's not "if" its "when" when you add alot of power.

[Sarge]

Away thee doomsayers...away!
Throw a 3400 rpm stall in it and a big trannie cooler. Run nothing but conventional ATF. Trannie love you long time.

[shady milkman]

Away thee doomsayers...away!
Throw a 3400 rpm stall in it and a big trannie cooler. Run nothing but conventional ATF. Trannie love you long time.

i will do as sarge says..he is very wise :worship:

[joejenkinsglass]

yes to the trans cooler heat is the biggest problem let it cool between passes and it should last a little while or rear will probably go first

[lancesT/A]

i agree baby the tranny and only get on it every once and awhile and you should be just fine. but like the others said you rear end should be your main concern if it is stock that is. but it wouldnt hurt to beef up your tranny with a shift kit and some better valve bodies.

[shady milkman]

his rear will be alright as long as he doesn't throw some slicks on it and doesn't launch hard.

[joejenkinsglass]

his rear will be alright as long as he doesn't throw some slicks on it and doesn't launch hard.

what fun is that? besides everyone needs a little carnage I still have a driveshaft that was twisted its junk but I cant ever get rid of it

[shady milkman]

the driveshaft will take a shit on him chances are before anything.

[drewhenderson13]

id say its 50-50 between the trans and rear end breaking first on an f-body... their the weak link in these cars especially

ive seen them break... 4l60e and 7.5 rear end... not made for race cars

ford makes weak engines... gm makes weak drivelines... they need to colaborate on a car!

[shady milkman]

You can always switch to the 4L80e

:sex: those 4l80e's are beasts

[lancesT/A]

how much does it cost to get a 4l80 put in and does it take some custom mounts because the 4l80 is a bigger tranny.

[mrr23]

the trans should hold fine, so long you don't go out abusing it. same with the rear. i'm still on stock rear ends with 3.73 gears. the blower doesn't put near the same stress as nitrous does, in equal horsepower. blowers gradually build up.

[Pro Built Automatics]

How many miles on the unit? Is it shifting good now? Anything done to it?

[1TA LS1]

How many miles on the unit? Is it shifting good now? Anything done to it?

24k miles on the car. All services have recently been completed on the car, such as new fluids and filters on the entire car. The car shifts perfect. Nothing is done. The car is completely stock. Only a new borla exhaust.

[Pro Built Automatics]

With the low miles you could add the modified TransGo Performance Shift kit, and maybe the Sonnax second gear apply servo to go with it. This will still give you reasonably smooth part throttle shifts, and firm WOT shifts. This should keep the transmission alive for quite awhile. What torque converter are you planning on using here? and what stall?

[JwMonE99]

ford makes weak engines... gm makes weak drivelines... they need to colaborate on a car!


Agreed

[SuPeRmAn23]

5 speed auto???

[Zboner]

the 4L60E will not hold, if anyone knows what those numbers stand for???

4= the # of gears
L= Longitudinal ttransmission
60= is the HP rating, you simply add a 0 to the end which gives you 600 then divide that number by 2 for all GM transmissions, which gives you a rating of 300
E= stands for electronic shift.

you do the math, i have given up on the 4l60's personally, went through 7 of them when i was only putting 400hp to the wheels, cracked the GM 5 pinion planatery gear set, was running a 3,000 stall and a big cooler also, everything was upgraded in the transmission. my personal preference would be to go with a TH350, cost will be 1/2 as much as the 4L60 and hold twice the amount of power and you can put a trans break in :shrug::happy:

[Zboner]

how much does it cost to get a 4l80 put in and does it take some custom mounts because the 4l80 is a bigger tranny.

serious undercarrage modifications:giveup:

[joejenkinsglass]

the 4L60E will not hold, if anyone knows what those numbers stand for???

4= the # of gears
L= Longitudinal ttransmission
60= is the HP rating, you simply add a 0 to the end which gives you 600 then divide that number by 2 for all GM transmissions, which gives you a rating of 300
E= stands for electronic shift.

you do the math, i have given up on the 4l60's personally, went through 7 of them when i was only putting 400hp to the wheels, cracked the GM 5 pinion planatery gear set, was running a 3,000 stall and a big cooler also, everything was upgraded in the transmission. my personal preference would be to go with a TH350, cost will be 1/2 as much as the 4L60 and hold twice the amount of power and you can put a trans break in :shrug::happy:

a trans brake is offered for the 4l60 now too

[shady milkman]

the 60 is the total amount of weight the car can be. 60 is 6000 lbs. at least that is what i was told.

[sharptransam]

Away thee doomsayers...away!
Throw a 3400 rpm stall in it and a big trannie cooler. Run nothing but conventional ATF. Trannie love you long time.

Sarge has spoken! all bow to the Sarge. :notworthy::vodka:

[Johns00Z28]

the 4L60E will not hold, if anyone knows what those numbers stand for???

4= the # of gears
L= Longitudinal ttransmission
60= is the HP rating, you simply add a 0 to the end which gives you 600 then divide that number by 2 for all GM transmissions, which gives you a rating of 300
E= stands for electronic shift.

you do the math, i have given up on the 4l60's personally, went through 7 of them when i was only putting 400hp to the wheels, cracked the GM 5 pinion planatery gear set, was running a 3,000 stall and a big cooler also, everything was upgraded in the transmission. my personal preference would be to go with a TH350, cost will be 1/2 as much as the 4L60 and hold twice the amount of power and you can put a trans break in :shrug::happy:

Interesting info thanks for sharing. My question is, isn't the TH350 a drag only trans though w/ just a 3 speed? My car is my DD so this trans might be better than the 4L60E for hp but wouldn't necessarily be practical for the street. Is there a way to beef up the 4L60E to take more hp or is it simply a waste of money? Or is there another version of the TH350 w/ an OD?

[drewhenderson13]

Interesting info thanks for sharing. My question is, isn't the TH350 a drag only trans though w/ just a 3 speed? My car is my DD so this trans might be better than the 4L60E for hp but wouldn't necessarily be practical for the street. Is there a way to beef up the 4L60E to take more hp or is it simply a waste of money? Or is there another version of the TH350 w/ an OD?

yes u can build a 4L60E to hold the power... for about $324123545

ive heard u can buy or convert them to 4L65E or something like that, or put in a 4L80E. id just put in a TH350 and suck it up, they arent that bad, put maybe 3.73s in it.

do u do mostly city or highway driving?

[Johns00Z28]

Well I'm mainly driving around town although I do get on the highway sometimes but not for my daily commute. I just want the car to be fun to drive w/ occasional trips to the dragstrip. It's not, at least at this moment, going to be a drag only car which is why I'm not too thrilled about a 3 speed.

[Zboner]

the 60 is the total amount of weight the car can be. 60 is 6000 lbs. at least that is what i was told.


no thats wrong information.

[Zboner]

Well I'm mainly driving around town although I do get on the highway sometimes but not for my daily commute. I just want the car to be fun to drive w/ occasional trips to the dragstrip. It's not, at least at this moment, going to be a drag only car which is why I'm not too thrilled about a 3 speed.

check out
gearvendors overdrive they have what you want

[The Scientist]

I thought this article has some good pictures and a lil info.
http://www.truckinweb.com/tech/0510tr_sw_performance_transmissions_install

I had my trans rebuilt with all the upgrades and no problems for almost a year until last weekend when I broke the sprag. My first time at the track with BFG drag radials cutting 1.7 60's. I don't think they make an aftermarket beefy sprag gear???

[drewhenderson13]

a 3 speed doesnt do too bad in city driving. its highway that gets em so bad. think about it, in the city which gears do u spend most time in

thats the way i see it at least. with 3.73s and a 3 speed u should doo pretty god.

but u have to remember it takes a little more money than everyone else acts like it does.

u have to get a special torq converter that ive heard they cost $800

but id do a th350 if it was my car

[Firebirdjones]

That cracks me up how everyone is afraid of the 3 speeds. Sheeeesh I grew up around 3 speed auto's and muncie 4 speeds,,thats all there was. I still run these transmissions in some of my other cars with 4.10 and 4.56 gears and drive them everywhere.

It seems people have gotten soft and just have to have an overdrive,,,lol. Don't get me wrong, they have their place, but there is nothing wrong with a good old fashioned 3 speed auto.

In that respect, if you are contemplating a 3 speed auto switch I would just go for a 400 turbo and be done with it. Many LS1 racers have made this switch and never looked back. I have 3 cars with this trans and I have to say they take anything I can throw at them without complaint. The turbo 350 is a good cheap trans, but it also requires a little money and good parts to make them durable.

Like mentioned gear vendors is another option, but sometimes they also take some floor mods to fit in some applications. Not to mention they cost about $2,000,,,,ouch! I don't want an overdrive that bad,,,it would take a ton of driving to recoup your investment in gas savings,,,I don't see it happening.

[drewhenderson13]

a th400 is a waste of money unless u plan on building massive power.

a th350 will hold a hell of a lot of power and looses less power through it.

th350 is the way to go

[Firebirdjones]

Naaa, what some people forget is the 350 turbo is not just going to bolt in as a stocker and work flawless,,,,they need some billet pieces and a few other things to make them strong enough to take the abuse,,,it's what I do for a living, they are not strong enough in stock form. Buy the time you spend that money you could have a nice 400 turbo that needs only a few little things.
The HP difference through the drivetrain between the 2 is so minimal it's not worth debating. In the end there really isn't enough price difference to debate either.

[LETHALxLS1]

I know of a trans am here in Florida that runs low 9s on 4l60e. I saw the car drag the rear bumper.

[Firebirdjones]

Yep, they are all capable transmissions,,,the difference is the amount of money you have to spend on them to make them capable.

[LETHALxLS1]

This place has a stage 1, 2, and 3 -4L60E Transmissions that can handle alot of power. http://www.performabuiltautomatics.com/

[Pro Built Automatics]

BREAKxNECKxSPEED, are you talking about Greg Whitaker from Davenport, Florida? A 1995 TA?

[LETHALxLS1]

yes I am LOL and his wife Paula- and I believe he used pro built parts not certain. Do you sell transmissions or just the parts to rebuild them?

[redz284u]

This place has a stage 1, 2, and 3 -4L60E Transmissions that can handle alot of power. http://www.performabuiltautomatics.com/

correct me if im wrong, but, when they say "inspect for stress and cracks", does that imply they are using your old parts again, instead of installing new parts in there??????

anybody here bough one of these?????are they really the best replacement???? im looking for a tranny that will bolt on directly...but stronger, and will work with the cpu with out any mods...

[LETHALxLS1]

What rebuilt trans. uses all new parts?

[redz284u]

i thought re-built meant u use the same housing, and all internals are new/remanufacuter parts....not your old worn junk....

[shady milkman]

no just specific parts..that need to be beefed up...not all parts need to be beefed up or fatigue.

[Anthracis]

id say its 50-50 between the trans and rear end breaking first on an f-body... their the weak link in these cars especially

ive seen them break... 4l60e and 7.5 rear end... not made for race cars

ford makes weak engines... gm makes weak drivelines... they need to colaborate on a car!

...Or you can make it happen yourself. I just put in a Moser 9" with 3.70 gears, Eaton POSI, Aluminum housing, etc...and a very built up 4l60e trans (stall, firm shifts, kevlar, torque arm to prevent tailshaft stress, etc...) and a computer tune from the guys at:

http://www.exoticperformanceplus.com

The rear end was just a beast! The car is getting the trans and tune installed next week when parts arrive at my shop.

After all is said and done...410rwhp!! Awesome.

[Anthracis]

serious undercarrage modifications:giveup:

+1

That's why I just spent $3500 on a built 4l60e!! I wanted a 4l80e but they said that there would have to be serious modifications because its a much larger trans.

[Firebirdjones]

Yep thats really the sad thing about these 3rd and 4th gen Fbodies. You have to spend some serious coin for trans and rearend upgrades to make the car worthy of abuse.

[Pro Built Automatics]

BREAKxNECKxSPEED I sell the parts that he used and I build them. I am leaning toward helping people build their own units, but I will be building probably for a long time still.